The Thousand Islands

The Thousand Islands are the roots of an ancient Precambrian mountain range ground down by successive glaciations to granite bedrock. Over the centuries the bare, gnarled hills were covered with rich forests and carpets of wildflowers. Where the St. Lawrence floods eastward, these hilltops became islands. The Thousand Islands link the natural communities of the Algonquin highlands with the Adirondack Mountains to the south.

During the 19th century, the land was cleared for agriculture, although farming on the thin soils produced marginal yields. Today, the forests have returned and the landscape you are overlooking resembles the one that existed two centuries ago.

Les Millé-Îles constituent la base d'une chaîne pré-cambrienne, aplanie par les glaciations successives jusqu'au substrat de granit. Au fil des siècles, les collines tortueuses et dénudées se sont couvertes de riches forêts et de tapis de fleurs sauvages. Là où le Saint-Laurent entreprend sa course vers l'Est, ces collines sont devenues des îles. Les Mille-Îles relient les communautés naturelles des hautes-terres du massif Algonquin aux monts Adirondacks, au sud.

Au XIXe siècle, le terrain a été défriché à des fins agricoles, mais la minceur du sol ne permettait que de maigres récoltes. De nos jours, la forêt a repris sa place et le paysage à vos pieds est semblable à ce qu'il était il y a deux cents ans. . This historical marker was erected by Parks Canada. It is in Darlingside in Leeds and Grenville United Counties Ontario